WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley Assesses CM Punk's Return

CM Punk's first promo on "WWE Raw" in nearly a decade appeared to be about healing, with the former WWE Champion promising he'd changed. On "Busted Open Radio," Mick Foley said that he felt there was a level of safety in the promo that the oft-controversial star doesn't usually engage in, but Foley was hesitant to call that a bad thing.

"Look, he's a master on the mic and it was a really strong promo," Foley said. "It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. He's laying the groundwork for what should be an incredible run."

Foley hopes that Punk has gained some perspective in his time away from WWE. He recalled how disappointed Punk was at losing out on the main event of WrestleMania 29, despite having a marquee match against The Undertaker. 

"If you can't appreciate working with Undertaker at WrestleMania, and if you win the AEW title and the focus becomes not the joy of that title but on airing your grievances, then you've done a disservice to the title," Foley said. "If the feeling after drawing the largest non-WWE crowd in the history of the United Kingdom [at AEW All In] is not on that crowd, but on a backstage fight, again, you've done a disservice to the company."

Foley thinks that this will likely be Punk's last run in professional wrestling, and said he hopes Punk finds a way to enjoy it. When asked, Foley also agreed there was a certain level of maturity in Punk's "Raw" promo, as the former AEW World Champion didn't come out of the gate spewing vitriol or running down his former employer. Instead, Punk described WWE as "home," and Foley feels that's true for a majority of current and former WWE stars.

"I feel like he meant it," Foley said. "I hope he makes the most of it."